Cards bearing pictures of baseball players have been given as a premium with packs of gum for a great many years. Youngsters, primarily boys interested in baseball, would assemble collections of these cards. More recently, cards carrying other pictures, such as football and other sports figures, military aircraft, etc. have been offered as premiums with a variety of products. Collecting such cards has become very popular, with early or rare cards becoming quite valuable.
Originally, cards were simply kept in the proverbial cigar boxes or displayed in frames. With time, handling and exposure to ultraviolet light in sunlight and incandescent light, cards tended to wear and fade. As more people began to collect such cards, rare or early cards have become quite valuable. Collectors began to store the cards in paper sleeves, envelopes or plastic bags to protect them from environmental damage. Ideally, the cards would be stored in a manner allowing viewing of the cards while protecting them against fading and physical damage. Plastic sleeves or other holders protect against wear quite well, but generally do not protect against fading. Thus, present storage methods do not provide maximum protection while allowing the card image to be viewed.
Old or rare cards, cards bearing an original autograph of the subject and cards showing rookie players who later become stars can be extremely valuable.
Collectors sometimes obtain autographs of persons pictured on cards or those having a relationship to the cards subject matter. These cards are much more valuable than unsigned cards. This has developed to the point where significant amounts of money are being charged for the autographs and some companies pay to have series of cards autographed for later sale at high prices. This has, of course, resulted in forged signatures and fraudulent reproduction of old, valuable cards. Legitimate providers of autographed or valuable cards now often provide certificates of authenticity which should always be kept with the corresponding card. Despite such care, forgeries do occur and certificates do become separated from corresponding cards, greatly reducing the card's value.
Thus there is a continuing need for inexpensive card protection systems for collectible cards and the corresponds certificates of authenticity, that will protect the cards from wear, damage and fading while allowing the cards and certificates to be viewed when desired.